BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Buys 65,040 Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 65,040 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $13,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Alcoa by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 26,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Alcoa by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its holdings in Alcoa by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 8,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period.

Alcoa Price Performance

Shares of AA opened at $45.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.84, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.94. Alcoa Co. has a 1-year low of $23.80 and a 1-year high of $46.60.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 2.65% and a negative return on equity of 1.45%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.14) EPS. Alcoa’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Argus upgraded Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alcoa from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Alcoa from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. The trade was a 29.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

About Alcoa

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.